In efforts to provide a temporary storage for fuel element containers in the open, it has been suggested to accommodate the containers in silo-like housings made of concrete or steel-reinforced concrete. These silo-like housings can be of different configurations and are each suitable for accommodating one fuel element container. In one such configuration of a shielding housing for receiving fuel element containers, the shielding housing is provided with lateral air inlet passages at the lower end of the shielding wall and lateral air outlet passages in the region of the upper end of the shielding wall beneath the cover. With this arrangement of air inlet and air outlet openings, a natural ventilation within the housing is obtained for directing away heat produced by the radioactive decay of materials stored in the container.
It is a well-known technique to monitor the fuel element container during its temporary storage by means of appropriate measuring instruments. In this way, for example, the temperature of the fuel element container is continuously monitored.